THE purple dinosaur whose music was used by the US to crack Iraqi prisoners is to work his magic in the UK with an arena tour.

THE purple dinosaur whose music was used by the US to crack Iraqi prisoners is to work his magic in the UK with an arena tour.

Barney The Dinosaur will perform to around a quarter of a million people during the six-week tour which kicks off in March next year.

It is Barney's first arena tour in the UK since 1998. He is a huge hit with young children around the world and his show is screened by Five.

The tour kicks off in Nottingham on May 21, and calls in at Newcastle, Birmingham, London's Wembley Arena, Dublin, Belfast, Sheffield, Cardiff, Manchester, Aberdeen and Glasgow.

It emerged earlier this year that Barney's songs were among those played by US interrogators to get Iraqi captives to talk. The dinosaur is known for his syrupy theme tune I Love You.

Producers of the show say it will transport children to imaginary lands with lush jungles and dancing elephants and Arctic ice floes with tap dancing penguins. Tickets go on sale on Monday on 0870 143 2204.